At 36, Allyson Felix had done the impossible. She was the most decorated woman in Olympic athletics history, with more medals than Usain Bolt and Carl Lewis. However, the allure of the Olympics taking place in her country was too strong to ignore, and Felix announced her comeback in April of this year. Two months after the announcement, the 40-year-old seems to have found a balance between family and training.

The 11-time Olympic medalist posted a heartwarming photo on her Instagram story, showing how her children are playing their role in helping her prepare for the return. “She plays while I put in the work. The best kind of balance,” the mother of two wrote on her Instagram story. The post came with an image of the 40-year-old at the track, training while her daughter sat in the long-jump sand pit playing.

Felix has been doing so ever since her daughter was born in 2018, when the then-32-year-old was still competing at the highest level. In fact, she even ran five meets in the year, keeping her pregnancy a secret before giving birth in November. Felix eventually returned to the track by July 2019. Although she struggled to find her best, that changed going into the 2021 Olympics, with the 35-year-old qualifying in second place for the 400m.

Then at 36, she made it into the 400m Olympic final in Tokyo. There she tied Carl Lewis as the most decorated American track-and-field Olympian. Felix would then overtake Lewis with a gold medal in the 4x400m final, breaking the record. The 36-year-old eventually retired from track and field a year later, winning two more medals before she did.

Allyson Felix threw herself into various sports and business ventures until she started training with her husband, Kenny Ferguson. It was then that the idea of a potential comeback came into her head, and she couldn’t get it out.

“It kept coming back to me: I wonder if I would be able to qualify?” Felix said, according to NBC News. “It was something I was playing around with in my head. Then I started moving around more, doing [more] workouts, and I was like, huh. This might actually be possible.”

By the time the LA2028 Olympics arrive, Felix will be 42. Her children will be 10 and 4. However, Olympic legend has already shown that you can compete even in your 40s.

Allyson Felix hoping to follow in Lindsey Vonn’s footsteps

From Venus Williams to her sister Serena coming back for the 2026 Wimbledon, multiple American sports icons have come out of retirement. However, for Allyson Felix, Lindsey Vonn is who inspired her. The alpine skiing icon made an incredible comeback at the age of 41 at the 2026 Winter Olympics. While her comeback didn’t quite go according to plan, Vonn’s mere presence in Milan made her an inspiration.

“To me, what was inspiring was she completely changed people’s thoughts around what’s possible,” Felix told NBC News. “I think that’s not just in sports. That’s in life, and that’s what impacted me. We’re all so proud of her. It’s just super courageous what she’s done,” added Felix, who watched it firsthand from Milan in her role as an athlete advisor to the International Olympic Committee. 

That, more than anything, has the 40-year-old questioning longevity in sprinting. Especially given how athletes well into their 30s continue to compete at the highest level in other track events. It’s something Allyson Felix pointed out, and she hopes to change the norm.

“I’m very curious why there isn’t longevity [in sprinting],” Felix added. “I know in marathons and longer races, it’s more common to see older athletes. I wonder if it’s because it’s not possible, or because no one has tried it and pushed those limits.”

For now, Felix’s comeback is unfolding one training session at a time, with her children never far from the action. Whether LA 2028 becomes reality or not, she’s already redefining what this chapter of her career can look like.